For nearly three decades, the Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has been at the forefront of basic and applied research to promote effective corporate and public policies for low-probability events with potentially catastrophic consequences. The Wharton Risk Center has focused on natural and technological hazards through the integration of risk assessment and risk perception with risk management strategies. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, research activities were extended to include national security issues (e.g., terrorism risk insurance, protection of critical infrastructure).

Building on the disciplines of economics, finance, insurance, marketing, psychology and decision sciences, the Center's research program is oriented around descriptive and prescriptive analyses. Descriptive research focuses on how individuals and organizations interact and make decisions regarding the management of risk under existing institutional arrangements. Prescriptive analyses propose ways that individuals and organizations, both private and governmental, can make better decisions regarding risk.

The Center supports and undertakes field and experimental studies of risk and uncertainty to better understand the linkage between descriptive and prescriptive approaches under various regulatory and market conditions.

In the past several years, the Center has significantly increased its size to now include 70 faculty, research fellows, students and visiting scholars from all over the world to undertake large-scale initiatives. Providing expertise and a neutral environment for discussion, the Center team is also concerned with training decision makers and promoting a dialogue among industry, government, interest groups and academics through its research and policy publications and through sponsored seminars, roundtables and forums. Our newsletter and issue briefs provide updates of Center activities and publications.

For analysis of financing and management of large-scale catastrophes, contact the Wharton Risk Center's directors: Howard Kunreuther, kunreuther@wharton.upenn.edu; Robert Meyer, meyerr@wharton.upenn.edu; Erwann Michel-Kerjan, erwannmk@wharton.upenn.edu.

Howard Kunreuther, James G. Dinan Professor; Professor of Decision Sciences and Business and Public Policy; Co-Director, Wharton Risk Center

Robert Meyer, Gayfryd Steinberg Professor of Marketing; Co-Director, Wharton Risk Center

Erwann Michel-Kerjan, Managing Director, Wharton Risk Center

Paying for Future Catastrophes, The New York Times Sunday Review, November 24, 2012
Hurricane Sandy was not an isolated event. Twenty of the 30 most expensive insured catastrophes worldwide from 1970 to 2011 have occurred since 2001 — and 13 of them were in the United States. What’s next? And who will pay?

How resilient is your country? Nature, November 21, 2012
Extreme events are on the rise. Governments must implement national and integrated risk-management strategies.

Hurricane Sandy's Storm Surge and the NFIP, Wharton Risk Center, November 2012
Following the devastating storm surge and flooding from Hurricane Sandy, concerns have been raised about the status of flood insurance in the United States. Our analysis shows that many homeowners who sustained flood damage from Sandy did not have a flood insurance policy

Why We Should Not (Always) Blame Congress, The Huffington Post, August 8, 2012
Op-ed by Erwann Michel-Kerjan and Howard Kunreuther on the Biggert-Waters Act and reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program signed into law by President Obama.

World Economic Forum's Global Risks, 2013 
The world is most at risk from the lingering financial crisis, deflecting attention from climate change at a time of increasing extreme weather events, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2013 report.  A survey of over 1,000 experts and industry leaders has identified the top two most prevalent global risks to be severe income disparity and chronic fiscal imbalances, reflecting on-going concerns about government debt.  Respondents rated rising greenhouse gas emissions as the third most likely global risk overall.  The failure of climate change adaptation was seen as the environmental risk with the most knock-on effects for the next decade.The Wharton Risk Center has been the academic partner of the World Economic Forum since 2005.

Redesigning Flood Insurance, Science, July 22, 2011
by Erwann Michel-Kerjan and Howard Kunreuther
The U.S. Congress is discussing options for continuing the NFIP, which now operates under a 1-year extension, set to expire on September 30, 2011. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is responsible for the NFIP, is reanalyzing the program. A new strategy for managing floods can increase personal responsibility, decrease risk, and lower government exposure.

Masters of Disaster, Wharton Magazine, Spring 2010
At Wharton's Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, researchers are investigating why humans do such a poor job planning for, and learning from, catastrophes.

Strengthening Activities on a Global Scale
Assessing the Feasibility of a Private Market for Flood Insurance
The Untold Story of Federal Disaster Relief
Communicating Climate Change
Citizens' Concepts of Their Duty as Voters
World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report
In Memoriam: Paul. R. Kleindorfer